Burning Desire

Boca Raton Boy Scout's Fire Project Was A Hot Topic At Science Fair.

As a Boy Scout who loves to sit around campfires, James Fairbanks needed to know which wood takes the longest to burn.

He got his answer in his Palm Beach County Science and Engineering Fair project. Hickory is the slowest, followed by cherry wood and then pine.

Fairbanks, an eighth-grader at Loggers Run Middle School west of Boca Raton, said he hopes his discovery will be useful to his troop. The Scouts usually gather their wood and don't buy it in supply stores, as Fairbanks did. He performed the experiment in his back yard with his father. Still, he said he hopes to share what he learned.

"I haven't talked to the leaders about it yet," said Fairbanks, who has been a Boy Scout for two years and a Cub Scout since first grade.

"We could use the pine to cook something quickly and the hickory for the campfire."

Palm Beach County middle and high school students entered 438 projects in the annual science fair Dec. 8 at the South Florida Fairgrounds west of West Palm Beach, about 100 fewer than last year.Coordinator Debrah Bowen said the decrease was due to the two hurricanes in September, which interrupted projects students had started, as well as the earlier fair date.

Students will find out if they won first, second, third or fourth place in their categories by Jan. 20, Bowen said. Last year's exposition took place in February.

Each student was graded by up to five judges in the areas of scientific thought, clarity, creativity, skill and teamwork. The 101 judges were volunteers with expertise in medicine, dentistry and environmental science.

Many companies and organizations donate awards, which in the past have included calculators, free entrance to attractions, medals, cash and plaques.

About 40 winners will proceed to the state science fair in Orlando in April. Winners in Orlando will go on to the international fair in Phoenix in May.

As someone who drinks tap water in three cities, Lydia Moeller noticed differences in taste and appearance that she wanted to document scientifically. She goes to church in West Palm Beach and noticed the water there seemed the dirtiest. She lives in Boynton Beach and thought that water was the best tasting, and she takes dance lessons in Lake Worth, where she tasted too much chlorine.

Moeller decided to test her taste buds as part of her fair project. An eighth-grader at Carver Middle School in Delray Beach, she found her senses were on target. She tested the three cities' water for chlorine, hardness and pH levels. She found West Palm Beach's water was the dirtiest, Lake Worth's water had the most chlorine and Boynton Beach's water had the best taste because it had balanced levels of chemicals.

Moeller, who said she hopes to develop her dance skills at Dreyfoos School of the Arts in West Palm Beach next year, said her discovery about West Palm Beach water won't drastically alter her drinking habits.

"It really did taste like dirt," she said. "Normally, I don't drink much water at church, but now I'll drink even less."

Lois Solomon can be reached at lsolomon@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6536.